OWN CORRESPONDENT, Freetown | Tuesday 11.00pm.
THE Sierra Leone government announced on Tuesday that it had foiled a jailbreak plot that would have led to the release of dozens of collaborators of the ousted military junta who are being tried for various offences.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice Solomon Berewah told reporters in Freetown that the jailbreak at the Padema Road prison in Freetown planned for last week was foiled by vigilant security guards. He said a number of people have been placed in custody as investigations continue, adding that the plot was masterminded by two people — a former member of the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, Abu Sankoh, and a Sierra Leonean arms dealer who was close to the junta. The attorney general said documents on the plot had been found on some of the suspects.
The Freetown government has been trying dozens of people for their roles in the coup, in which the civilian government — the first in 30 years — of president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was overthrown last year by Major Johnny Paul Koroma. Koroma and his junta set up the AFRC once in power, and after being dislodged by Ecomog 10 months later, joined forces with the outlawed Revolutionary United Front, led by Foday Sankoh.
Foday Sankoh is being held in Freetown, awaiting trial for treason, for which he may face the death penalty.
Sixteen alleged collaborators of the AFRC have so far been sentenced to death while more than 30 are standing trial. Hundreds of suspected collaborators are being held.
Jailbreaks are not new in Freetown — a jailbreak from Padema Road prison in May last year, orchestrated by Koroma, released men who then became instrumental in his coup, although many released were common criminals.
Ecomog has reported an instensification of rebel activity in the north and west of the counry in the last 10 days, with rebel roops gathering in Liberia along the Sierra Leone border.